The Callan Teaching Method...... in Poland

Well I have looked it up on the forum but have not found a discussion about just peoples feelings toward to Callan... I presume quite a lot of members on here are natives.. or have teached Callan method sometime in there life!....

So were I live i have no real choice... for the school it is important to teach Callan method as it provides 1/3 of the weekly lessons... one school stopped Callan and all the students come to us because they just liked the method.. Plus the reputation of the method (they think is has a great reputation)..

Although i don't agree this method is the best or completely effective i think for is's a nice easy couple of hours a week were i have to do no prep... just open the book and talk like I'm enjoying the lesson.. don't get me wrong... there is NO WAY I could do more than 5-6 hours a week it would bore me!

Please, I'm interested in your opinions...

I was a trainer in the method and can say that it is boring at times. It's fun in that it's interactive and you are always on your toes. It's mind-numbing in that it's pre-prepared material with no real scope for innovation of any note. It's particularly effective in the first four stages where tempo is key. They must feel the melody of the question. After stage 6, it fizzles out into questions of little relevance in the real world. Stages 5 and 6 are heavily grammar based.

Any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask

Seanus

Yes - I have a question: my ex wanted to do this and she said you will learn English in one quarter of the time normally needed. Is this true? How about writing skills? Are they emphasized as well or is it just about the vocal capabilities?

M-G (questions, questions - new part of Oskar George and the reporter is ready btw)

Don't be conned by labels, M-G. That's their slogan but I'm ever more sceptical of propaganda. Writing skills are virtually non existent. 5 minute dictations of pure drivel. It's all about speaking.

Seanus

See, that's what I thought after reading some info about it. And I told her that, but she with her stubborn Polish mind said I was negative and that she (as usual) was right: her English overall would improve. Well.

M-G (not that it took that much to improve her English, but that's a different story:) )

Most of the Callan students have none.... you can not beat sitting down and having a real lesson!

Ajb

And writing skills were exactly the point in which she needed to improve... I mean, she sometimes asked me to look at official letters she had written and I found at least 25 errors in a piece of text no longer than 3 sentenses. That's way too much. And then one can say: "yeah, but they all know what I mean", but even though this might be true, I just don't think it looks that good. And besides, if I didn't know what she was talking about, I wouldn't have a clue what she had written. Somehow it didn't surprise me that she never got answers...:) Her vocal capabilities were pretty good, yet she is following, or has followed the Callan method. Amazingly stubborn woman.

M-G (tsk)

Well when a teacher dictates a peice of text to you, then you check it at home..pointless you genrally don't know why you made the mistake which is why you did it! but yes if you want to speak in the long form... Mr Callan is your man

It's a parrot method which doesn't make for a good rational discussion or debate on anything meaningful. It's like classroom ping pong which doesn't tease out many of the things required to be an effective communicator.

Correct, that is so important especially for the frail minds of children. Keeps them sharp and makes them smarter. That's why language is such an important part of intelligence.

M-G (found that his teachers at school in Holland did exactly that and he loved it)

They over-stress speed at the expense of methodical and progressive learning. Teachers were encouraged to blast through the material without really taking the time to systematically explain it.

One thing which is good about the method is the shortcuts. I have many ways in which I present an idea using letters and a piece of paper. My experience makes teaching grammar a piece of cake. S V O and I'm off :)